I received this book "The Night Swim" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This was an interesting book. Lots of twists and turns and fast paced. I like to read mysteries and the courtroom, podcast, letters to Rachel aspect was great. This book will hook you from the first page!

This was a fast paced thriller about a trial. Throw in a podcast host and a secondary case and it was extremely up my alley. CW: the trial is about a rape case.

This book was really different from any other book and I really enjoyed the podcast format of it! Overall really good book!

Wow! I finished reading The Night Swim with head spinning and heart hurting. What can I say about a book that absolutely slayed me? Pushed all my buttons? Well-done, Megan Goldin! The Escape Room was fantastic, but this book left me speechless. I'll attempt to organize my scrambled brain and share my thoughts about this five hundred star book.

Rachel Krall is well-known for her highly successful true crime podcast and her uncanny ability to find justice for people that the system failed. While her voice is easily recognizable, her face is not which is why it spooked her to find a note tucked under her car windshield wiper while parked at a remote truck stop. No one should know her whereabouts as she's on her way to record her next podcast in the small town of Neapolis, N.C. The note implores Rachel to look into the old case of a girl named Jenny Stills who died twenty-five years ago in the same town, and it's signed by Hannah, Jenny's sister. The story that unfolds is told through two compelling points of view - one from Rachel as she covers the rape trial of the town's golden boy swimmer who stands accused of raping a high school girl only identified as K. and at the same time pursuing leads in the old case of Jenny Stills and another pov through Hannah, as the heartbreaking story of what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago comes to light. It is absolutely riveting reading the letters Hannah writes Rachel as she pours out her heart revealing past tragic events as are the chapters of Rachel recording her crime podcast of the trial and interviewing witnesses. I couldn't stop reading as I focused on both characters and cases which play out through dual timelines that are flawlessly woven throughout. Through skillfully placed twists and turns, the reader, along with the jury and the podcast audience is charged with deciding Guilty or Not Guilty?

Goldin expertly draws readers into the small town environment of have's vs. have-not's, showcasing the way privilege and reputation can sway or redirect the delivery of justice. With care and grace, the author delves into the heartbreak and brutality of rape and its devastating, life long effect on victims and their families. It allows readers to get an up close and personal view of how rape survivors are often treated - shamed, shunned, and unfortunately many times "raped" again during agonizing court testimony only to watch their attacker walk free. I can't say enough about the author's skill in delivering this mesmerizing story through characters that broke my heart. Moving from courtroom scenes to podcast transcripts to Hannah's letters to Rachel's investigation, I was fully engaged from page one forward. The Night Swim is a heartbreaking, gripping, totally captivating suspense thriller that I highly recommend. Another book for my 2020 Favorites Shelf!

This book is a great Thriller. Centered around a rape trial. it examines the ins and outs of the case and the various relationships that are formed in a small town. I found the story to be very interesting and the story moved along at a great pace. I recommend this story

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin combines a fictional true-crime podcast, a rape trial case, and a twenty-five-year-old murder. Rachel is a podcaster who is in town to cover the rape trial case in a North Carolina town. While in town she begins to receive mysterious letters detailing the murder of a teen girl twenty-five years prior. Rachel begins to dig deep into the unsolved murder case and is soon unraveling many secrets that some would prefer never to see the light of day. Lots of drama and intrigue to read and enjoy!

I was provided with a free copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two cases 25 years apart from one another. One we are lead to assume that there was foulplay in what the entire community is calling a drowning and the other is a r*pe case actively in court.

The writing is clear and descriptive without being trite or too much. The characters are relatable and flawed, but I found myself routing for some and wanting to see how their stories played out.

One thing I am not as big of a fan of with thrillers is when the whole “twist” is explained out at the end by a character, its less work for the reader and I’ve found that even thrillers I’ve enjoyed up until the end fall flat when this happens.

I’d recommend this book, it is one of the better thrillers I’ve read recently.

// 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 //⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⁣
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Thank you so much @netgalley and @megangoldinauthor for my {gifted} copy of #TheNightSwim ... this book sat way too long my #TBR list and I am KICKING MYSELF for not starting it sooner.⁣
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Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely adore a book that is written like a podcast and this one was written FLAWLESSY. I am actually sad that I didn't listen to this as a podcast because I think I would have adored it even more (and I hear that the production is fantastic, so may need to check it out in the future). I was completely engrossed throughout the entire book and Goldin did a FANTASTIC job of writing multi-dimensional and multi-layer characters that had heart and depth. I am also a huge fan of police procedural cases and while this didn't focus heavily on that, I still appreciated that the reader was experiencing 2 similar cases, 25 years apart, being solved in tandem.⁣
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Trigger warning - this book focuses heavily on rape and it is extremely disturbing in parts. I will give Goldin a lot of credit for handling this subject matter with tact and grace though. The reader knew what was happening, but a lot of the graphic details were skimmed over, making it a bit easier to stomach. There were many points in this novel that I had to stop and walk away because I was sick at how horrifically these women were treated. My only gripe may have been how "justice was served," as the end was a bit anti-climatic for the one case, but nonetheless, this gets a massive 5 stars from me.⁣
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If you're free, @candidwithcourtney and I are going live on IG to chat about this book today (8/9/20) at 2pm ET. We have a lot to unpack and I'd love to hear your personal thoughts on this story. What a ride this was ... and definitely a book I'll be recommending to all of my friends and followers!

● THE NIGHT SWIM ●

THE DETAILS⇣
❱ A MYSTERY WITHIN A MYSTERY
❱ A TRUE CRIME PODCAST
❱ RAPE & RAPE CULTURE
❱ TIMELY & POIGNANT WITH A SATISFYING ENDING
❱ LENGTH OF AUDIO - 9 HOURS, 59 MINUTES
❱ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY DESPITE HAVING AN ARC VIA NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW


MY THOUGHTS⇣

I am a fan of any kind of Podcast element added to a story. If I read the word "podcast" in the synopsis...I'm totally there for it. I actually should have read this since I received an ARC...but since The Covid hit, I haven't been able to read much of anything...but I've still been listening to a boatload of Audiobooks, almost double what I had been. So, I recommended this to my library to purchase and I was the first one in line for it.

I'm super glad I went with the audio because the narration was perfectly performed by all three narrators. I'm also relieved that I didn't have to complain about how it needed more narrators because I'm beginning to feel like a broken record on that one. If you're put off by the reviews that say this is slow-moving...you should try it on audio...because this story was made for that format.

The Night Swim is more of a mystery than a suspense thriller...actually, a mystery within a mystery, both of which take place in the same town. One currently, which is the courtroom drama of a rape trial and the other one in the past which was never reported or looked at as a crime. Overall, this is equal parts slow-burn mystery, courtroom drama, and a girl trying to get justice for her sister. It deals with rape, slut-shaming, and being poor in such a realistic and heartbreaking manner that this should not be missed or overlooked. Whether you read it or listen to it...although obviously, I definitely recommend the latter.

BREAKDOWN⇣
￮ Narration Rating ⇢ 5 STARS
￮ Plot ⇢ 5/5
￮ Characters ⇢ 5/5
￮ The Feels ⇢ 5/5
￮ Pacing ⇢ 5/5
￮ Addictiveness ⇢ 5/5
￮ Theme, Tone or Intensity ⇢ 5/5
￮ Originality/Believability ⇢ 5/5
￮ Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ⇢ 4.8/5
￮ Ending ⇢ 5/5
￮ Summation ⇢ 5 STARS

If you read Escape Room last year, this book is nothing like that. It's still a well-written dark mystery, but the similarities end there. The book is told from two POVs. Rachel is a podcaster, who reviews cases and judgements on her show. She is currently covering an alleged rape case in a small town, when she is contacted by Hannah. Hannah believes her sister was murdered 25 years ago in the same small town, although officially it was ruled a drowning. Hannah wants Rachel to get involved and help find out what happened to her sister, Jenny. Both cases are very interesting, yet sad in their own right. Of course, I kept waiting to see how these cases would overlap, and they do in the end. The ending wrapped things up and was as satisfying as it could be. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man this was a good one! I will admit that I am not normally a fan of legal thrillers (and did not realize that this was one) but I ended up loving it! I thought that the characters were well developed and I was so invested in the plot line. You should definitely pick this one up!!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of The Night Swim in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed The Escape Room so i was excited to see Goldin was releasing The Night Swim. Goldin has definitely established herself as one of my favorite suspense/thriller authors.

The Night Swim captivated me from the beginning and I didn't want to stop reading it. At times, the rape elements were hard to read, but it was important that Rachel was addressing the case on her podcast and helping to solve Jenny Stiles' case as well. I really enjoyed the podcast element and the alternating POV between Hannah and Rachel. It was interesting to see the trial play out although it was sad to see what rape victims must go through to have their rapists prosecuted.

I would definitely recommend this to a friend and I can't wait to see what Goldin will write next!

I will update the link when I share on my instagram account.

What a twisty and suspenseful read! I am definitely seeking out more from this author! The connection between two crimes keeps Rachel immersed in solving them. She is the host of a podcast that freed an innocent man from jail. I read this in one sitting because I needed to know what would happen next!

This book completely blew me away, from start to finish. Rachel is a podcaster and she is doing her third season following a rape trial of a teenager. The accused is an older teenager who is a famous swimmer. The town where the trial takes place has a big disparity between the haves and the have nots. Rachel is contacted by Hannah regarding her sister’s murder 25 years before. The story is written in each of their points of view. I don’t usually like this, but in this book’s case it was vital to the story. The similarities in both crimes have a disturbing parallel and the ending….I can’t even describe it! I couldn’t put this book down!

Also reviewed on B&N and Kobo

Rachel Krall knows she has fans. Her podcast has been running for a year and has constantly gained popularity. When she gets a note on her car asking for help, she would rather ignore it. Actually, the sender said this is not her first contact with Rachel. No doubt someone in her staff wrote a polite denial letter. Well, that was not enough, thus the note on Rachel's car.

There is a huge rape trial going on in Rachel's town of Neapolis. The accused is a young man destined for the Olympics. The case is huge and could certainly derail the young man's career. His guilt or innocence is at constant battle for the vigilant lawyers involved. Meanwhile, Rachel continually reports on the progress of the case via her podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty. However, as things progress, Rachel begins having doubts and starts asking questions of her own. Also, there is a cold case of over twenty-five years that cost the life of her sister Jenny. Evidence was murky at best at that time and now that Rachel is digging, she begins to see similarities between the two cases.

When I read the ARC of this book I was intrigued. However, I received an audio ARC of this book and, even though only a month or so passed since my first read, I was just as captivated by the story. The fact that it was narrated by three individuals was wonderful, especially since one of the narrators is someone I have listened to quite frequently, January LaVoy. As far as I am concerned, a familiar voice really lends a lot to what is already a very good story.

The production was remarkable as well. The intro to each chapter was awesome, and the way the narrators handled all of the various characters could not have been done better. Then when you factor in the two storylines - which was done seamlessly - this was indeed an excellent book.

The matters at hand are certainly touchy. Rape and consent were explored and that most definitely had me feeling quite a bit of compassion towards the victims. As this was delivered quite a bit in podcast fashion, well, that was done really well. All in all, Megan Goldin presents a terrific book and I am so glad that I had the opportunity for a reread, via the audiobook program that NetGalley recently adopted.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Five stars! By far my favorite book I’ve read in 2020!! I love true crime podcasts so when I started reading and found this was a large part of the book I was so excited!! The book had twists and turns I wasn’t expecting and kept me guessing the whole time. It was centered on two different rapes that occurred in a small town so could be triggering for some people to read. By far the best thriller I’ve read in quite some time and I can’t wait to see what else is to come from Megan Goldin! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m so conflicted on this book. There was a ton of hype behind it, and I did enjoy it, but there were parts that I thought were just meh.

What I did like...
I loved the aspect of the true crime podcast. It reminded me of “Serial” which my husband and I love listening to. I also enjoyed the alternating perspectives between Rachel, Hannah, and the podcast script. I also liked how well Golden conveyed that rape is real and how much it can affect a victim.

What wasn’t my fav...
this was definitely more of a slow burn in my opinion. While I did like the ending, the rest of the book didn’t seem that climatic to me

with all that being said, this is a well written book that covers extremely difficult topics. I do still recommend this book to others even though it wasn’t my favorite book in the world!

"I’m Rachel Krall and this is Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts you in the jury box."

A clever structure elevates 'The Night Swim' to a gripping story about a 20-year-old crime that destroyed a family, told in a parallel with the current rape trial being covered by Rachel Krall, the new darling in the world of true-crime podcasts.

Rachel is covering the North Carolina trial of a local young superstar who has been charged with the rape and sexual assault of a teenage acquaintance. Stop reading right now if you have sensitivity to rape and assault because this book goes into excruciating detail about not only the trauma and pain of the actual assault, but also the humiliation of the rape kit and police investigations after. It is gripping reading, with tension building at every turn.

"The idea that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt dates back to the eighteenth-century British jurist Sir William Blackstone, who wrote in his seminal works that underpin our legal system: “Better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent person suffer.”

Studies show that rapists tend to be repeat offenders more than other criminals. They go on to rape again, at a rate of around five rapes in their lifetime. That means the ten guilty rapists who escape, to paraphrase Sir Blackstone, might go on to rape another forty innocent women. I wonder what Sir William Blackstone would say about that?""

Alternating with Rachel's narration is that of Hannah, whose older sister Jenny died a violent and mysterious death 20 years prior. Hannah has reached out to Rachel as her last hope of solving the tragic death of her beloved older sister. The details are horrifying and heartbreaking but somehow Rachel knows that she must try and help Hannah, who has been sending Rachel mysterious emails and letters.

This book is not for the faint of heart and I went in blind, not having read the synopsis. I was expecting a thriller like 'The Escape Room' which I loved! This book is much more of a true crime story,  but is wonderfully written and will please all fans of this genre.

I can't say enough nice things about this book! I LOVED it so much.

Pros: Smartly written and set up /formatted. Perfectly paced. Some really serious plot/themes developed in a thoughtful way with a satisfying resolution. I LOVED Rachel, she is a realistic believable narrator.

Cons: NONE! Except you will want to read it in one sitting! LOL

Review posted at: https://thereadingreaper.blogspot.com/2020/08/108-night-swim.html

Thank you to John Karle from St. Martins Press for reaching out and offering a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was once again asked to join in on the blog tour for this amazing book which i leapt at the chance to read it. This book was on my radar for a while as id seen it compared to the true crime podcast 'Serial' which anyone who knows me knows i was utterly entranced by. It started off my love for true crime podcasts so when i saw this book was a fictional take on a true crime podcast story it immediately became one of my most anticipated reads of 2020.

The story follows Rachel Krall who is the creator and presenter of the popular true crime podcast 'Guilty or Not Guilty'. Rachel is in Neapolis, North Carolina investigating and reporting on a rape trial of Kelly and Scott that is at the centre of her third season. We also follow Hannah whose sister Jenny was murdered years previous in the same town. The killer was never found as it was deemed suicide and Hannah has been left with a sense of injustice and the burning desire to find out what really happened to Jenny. Hannah believes that Rachel is the only person who can help her discover the truth and begins sending Rachel messages in the form of letters to try and convince her to take on the case.

My first impressions are that the story has an interesting premise and i really like how theres a split story line with what really happened to Kelly but also what happened 25 years ago to Jenny. It has that small town vibe that it could have been literally anyone and the author does a really good job of weaving through suspects without saying as much. I must say its a little dry at points, as im writing this im currently on 66% and im still waiting for it to become a little more thrilling, so far there hasnt been any twists as you would expect with a thriller but i am enjoying the mystery side of it. I have so many unanswered questions which is making me constantly pick the book back up to find out.

The writing is good, its very to the point and not very descriptive which i like in thrillers. Ive already researched other books by Megan Goldin to pick up after this one as i do like her story telling technique. This is the first thriller ive read that has a focus on a trial and i really enjoyed that side of it, hearing the testimonies and cross examination, it really added to the story and made the reader believe that a crime had taken place. I found Kelly's testimony about the rape difficult to read but it really made me sympathise with her. It felt just like reading a true crime novel. I think the element enjoyed most was the podcast chapters and think the audiobook would really heighten the readers experience of this book. Overall, the chapter splits were well done and i loved how the chapters werent too long, i always find i read so much more when theres shorter chapters.

Final thoughts upon finishing: so i must say i didnt see that big reveal coming, i had my suspicions but i was wrong! It didnt feel very edge of your seat though is my only criticism, there was never any doubt in my mind that both Rachel and Hannah would be fine, i would have preferred there to have been a bit more at stake i guess. I liked the way it wrapped up and i did enjoy the story overall.